Derek Lewis (American politician)
American politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Derek Joel Lewis (born October 31, 1986) is an American politician who has served as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from Kentucky's 90th House district since January 2019. His district includes Clay and Leslie counties as well as part of Laurel County.[2]
Derek Lewis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 90th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Tim Couch |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Brittany Lewis |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of the Cumberlands (BS) Western Kentucky University (MBA) |
| Profession | Business owner[1] |
| Committees | Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee (Co-Chair) Banking & Insurance Judiciary Transportation |
Background
Lewis was born in London, Kentucky.[3] He earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting and communication arts from the University of the Cumberlands and a Master of Business Administration from Western Kentucky University.[2][3]
He owns numerous small businesses such as a handyman service, pharmacy, and residential real estate.[2][4]
Political career
Drinking and driving controversy
On April 16, 2020, two hours after the adjournment of the 2020 Kentucky General Assembly, Lewis was arrested and charged with driving under the influence.[5] He was found in a ditch, and appeared to be intoxicated. The trial was originally scheduled for September 23, 2020; after being postponed three times, it was scheduled for May 19, 2021. Lewis was found not guilty, with a key part of his defense being a 2021 Kentucky Supreme Court ruling decided that Lewis' refusal to submit to a blood test could not be presented by prosecutors as evidence of guilt.[6]
Elections
- 2018 Lewis won the 2018 Republican primary with 6,574 votes (54.4%)[7] against incumbent Tim Couch and was unopposed in the 2018 Kentucky House of Representatives election, winning with 10,097 votes.[8]
- 2020 Lewis was unopposed in the 2020 Republican primary[3] and won the 2020 Kentucky House of Representatives election with 12,656 votes (74.4%) against Democratic candidate Ralph Hoskins.[9]
- 2022 Lewis was unopposed in both the 2022 Republican primary[3] and the 2022 Kentucky House of Representatives election, winning the latter with 11,092 votes.[10]
- 2024 Lewis was unopposed in both the 2024 Republican primary and the 2024 Kentucky House of Representatives election, winning the latter with 16,293 votes.[3]